(10-06-2009, 07:13 PM)ahktu Wrote: ...sometimes the darkness within a person needs to be indulged a bit to keep it from taking over. Sometimes you really DO just need to rock, or I do, anyway.
I guess it really just depends on how you’re able to process what you hear. If you can simply see the lyrics as the heartfelt perspective of someone who is confused or hurting it helps you to better understand the state of mind a lot of the world is in. It promotes empathy and a desire to help. However, if the message really gets into you and you find it bringing you down and making you depressed, I wouldn’t listen to it.
I agree! It really depends on how the music affects you. Our grandparents couldn't even handle Elvis or the Beatles. Now that music is so tame compared to the newer generations of rock!
When I was a born-again Christian, I allowed the pastor to convince me to get rid of my Led Zeppelin albums. I so totally regretted that! To her, it was 'satanic' but to me it was beautiful...
After that, I got into New Age music and listened to only Kitaro, Yanni, Vangelis, etc. for about 15 years! Not because I thought rock music was evil (I no longer thought that), but because I just didn't want to 'lower my vibration.'
Then, for some reason, I just started craving music. It was as though I was starved for it. I didn't have anything particularly heavy going on in my life...no seething rage that needed release or anything like that...nothing beyond normal life challenges...but I just finally realized that I liked to rock!
So I began the arduous task of re-acquiring all that music that I had previously gotten rid of. (Only to then have to repeat the process once everything came out on cd!)
I just no longer feel that listening to heavy music is necessarily detrimental. But, it really depends on the music. There are some genres of black- and death- metal that have vocals that sound very nasty/negative/evil to me and I cannot be around that music. I just choose not to subject myself to it. But I do listen to a lot that would be considered very heavy.
Interestingly, last week I saw Metallica live and totally loved it! I couldn't handle one of the opening bands, though, because of the harsh vocals. So I just sat them out. It didn't really bother me. Then, a few days ago, I saw another band that is among the heaviest on the planet (but with fairly clean vocals). I'm not as much into their music as I am into Metallica's, so I didn't do as much headbanging
but was more of an observer during some songs. There is a lot of energy generated at concerts and whenever I go to one, I try to affirm that if there is a way I can be of service by directing some of that energy, I am willing to do that. I've had some incredible experiences at heavy metal shows! Sometimes I have felt the presence of higher beings who seemed to be helping me uplift the energy of the entire crowd. Well, this time the crowd looked rougher, but guess what, they were just ordinary people, just like the good folks at the Metallica show. Most were there to blow off some steam and have a good time. (Except for the moshers, who can get violent and I stay away from them!) Even though the music was dark, and some the band members looked like they were doing their darndest to appear intimidating, I really felt like an observer, and that any negativity would not touch me. If anything, I felt that I was able to somehow lighten the place a bit.
Whereas, if I hadn't grown up with Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, I might have been uncomfortable. But now it's just a newer generation of heavy music, some of which is really awesome and some of which isn't.
My son keeps trying to get me to identify why I like some of this heavy music and others I cannot tolerate. I thought it was because of the vocals, and in some cases it is, but sometimes that's not it. I'm not really sure what it is. I just know that if the vibration makes me uncomfortable, I turn it off. If it energizes me, then I'm ok with it.